Black Magic Woman
by grisabele
Summary: What if the Dragoons had lost Rose...and not Lavitz?
1. Prologue

**Black Magic Woman**

**A/N: Don't flame me, please! I love Rose as much as many of you do. I just like to write "what-if" fics.**

**That being said, enjoy!**

"_**I know, I know I've failed you/I hope, I hope we get to/Sunny days again"-- Bring Back the Sun, by Our Lady Peace**_

_Lavitz stood, frozen in shock at what Lloyd had done to the King. Without thinking, he transformed into a Dragoon, and he lunged at Lloyd, just as Lloyd drew his sword._

"_You idiot!" Rose shouted, "He's got the Dragon Buster!"_

_Without knowing why she did it, Rose stepped between Lavitz and Lloyd, managing to shove Lavitz away from Lloyd...but, in the process, she herself was run through. She crumpled to the ground. Lavitz hurried toward her, lifted her into his arms as Lloyd departed._

"_Idiot," she said weakly, "You need to control yourself. Albert seems to be fine now...if you weren't so impulsive..."_

_She sighed._

"_Rose, hang in there."_

"_Look, don't you get it...even the Dragoon Armor is nothing against...the...Dragon Buster...next time...don't be so quick...to challenge...someone who can kill you...idiot..."_

_She closed her eyes...and then she was gone. Lavitz was too shocked to speak. All he could do was watch as her Dragoon Spirit floated up into the air, and out of the tower._

"_Wait," he said softly, to no one in particular as the stone faded into the distance..._

_In Fletz, a young woman with red hair was preparing to go to bed, when she noticed a bright, violet light in the sky, just outside her window._

_Puzzled, she opened the window and peeked outside..._

_A purple stone was hovering outside her window._

"_What's this?" she said softly, puzzled. As if by instinct, she reached out and grabbed it._

_At once, the stone stopped glowing._

"_How strange," she said, turning the stone over in her hands. It was a small sphere, easily fitting into the palm of her hand...when she held it up to the candlelight, she could see a six-pointed star in the center._

"_...This belonged to someone else...why is it here?"_

_Shrugging, she decided to keep it, figuring that the owner would certainly come after such a stone._

_Of course, she wasn't going to just_**give** _it to him._

_Everything came at a price._


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**A/N: For those of you wondering what the point of this fic is, it's a simple "What-if" scenario. What if Rose had died early in the game? What if they'd had to replace the Dark Dragoon and not the Jade Dragoon? **

**Aren't these "what-if" scenarios what fanfiction is supposed to be all about?**

**And now, your scheduled fic.**

**_"You still don't know what you think of me/You still don't know what I think of me."--Dumb, by Garbage_**

"So, our first course of action is to end the war," Albert said.

"What about Rose's Dragoon spirit?" Lavitz asked. He wouldn't admit it, but he felt responsible for Rose's death. _If I hadn't been so stupid...If I had controlled myself..._

"It'll turn up," Shana said quietly, "It has to."

"That's not important now," Albert interjected, "We need to deal with Doel."

Dart nodded. "Rose would want us to keep our priorities straight, and right now, our first priority is to figure out what Lloyd and Doel are up to."

Lavitz sighed. "You're right."

The next few days went by in a blur. Looking back, Lavitz recalled only that Doel had been killed, that he had been a Dragoon, that Haschel had inherited Doel's Dragoon Spirit...that the war was over.

He had been too caught up in his guilt to pay much attention to anything else that was going on..

Now he sat, motionless in the tent he shared with Dart and Albert, bound for Fletz, the capital city of Tiberoa.

Things could get better now. Maybe Rose's Dragoon Spirit was there. Maybe he could find it and by doing so, redeem himself.

"Hey, Lavitz? Are you in there?"

"Come in."

Dart slowly walked into the tent.

"You haven't been yourself lately," he remarked, seeing Lavitz sitting, motionless on his part of the tent. Lavitz shrugged. Dart tried again. "We missed you at dinner."

"I wasn't hungry."

"You haven't been hungry lately, either." Dart took a seat on his side of the tent. "You gotta eat, Lavitz. You can't protect Albert if you're weak because you haven't been eating!"

"Albert shouldn't be with us," Lavitz mumbled.

"Why not? He wanted to..."

"Because he needs to be back at Bale. Because I don't want to be responsible if he gets killed, too."

"Ah...this is about what happened to Rose?" Dart asked, in a soft, gentle voice.

"It was my fault," Lavitz muttered, "If I could have controlled myself, if I had been a little faster..."

"Then Lloyd would've killed you," Dart pointed out, "And Lloyd probably would've killed one of us anyway."

Lavitz remained silent. _If only I could change that incident so that no one died._

"You can't keep blaming yourself like this, Lavitz. We, the Dragoons who lived, need you, okay? Please don't give up on us!"

Dart was smiling. Lavitz managed a weak smile, and shook his head. "Did you come just to try to cheer me up?"

"Actually, no. Albert checked his maps today...and we should reach Fletz by tomorrow."

Lavitz nodded. "Thank you, Dart..."

Dart stood up, pausing to brush some of his blonde hair out of his eyes, and headed for the exit.

"Oh, and Lavitz...?" Dart said on his way out, "Try to cheer up, or at the very least, pretend to. Albert's pretty worried about you."

Then he left. Lavitz crossed his arms. _So we'll reach Fletz by tomorrow? It would be wonderful if Rose's Dragoon Spirit was there..._

Upon reaching Fletz, the first thing that caught Lavitz's attention was the size of the city. If Lloyd was here...they were going to have a hell of a time finding him. He didn't want to think about finding the Dragoon Spirit just yet. _What if whoever found it pawned it off? What if...it isn't even here?_

_The sooner we find it, the better._


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"**_She rules her life like a bird in flight/And who will be her lover?"--_**_Rhiannon, by Fleetwood Mac_

"Okay, so here's the plan," Dart said, "We're going to split up. Shana, Haschel and I will ask about Lloyd. Albert, Lavitz...you do the same."

Albert nodded. "Where should we meet, and when?"

Dart looked around, trying to think of a suitable place. His eyes wandered to a sign on the second floor of the inn. _Twin Castle Bar._

"We'll meet there," Dart said, pointing to the sign.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Albert asked, "I mean, bars are known to be less-than-reputable--"

"It'll be fine, Albert," Lavitz said hastily. He wanted a head start on his search.

"If you're sure..." Albert said quietly.

Within five minutes, the group was seperated. Dart and the others headed for the east side of town, while Albert and Lavitz headed northwest, stopping to ask everyone they could about Lloyd. Much to their frustration, all of the townspeople had roughly the same answer:

"Platinum hair? Haven't seen him."

"If there was anyone like that here, we'd have noticed!"

"Hm. No, I haven't seen anyone like that."

Lavitz finally sighed and leaned against a building. "That was discouraging..."

"Yes..." Albert sighed. He crossed his arms and looked over at the castle. "We haven't tried there yet."

"I don't know that we'd find out anything new," Lavitz sighed, "But we might as well try."

He followed Albert to the small open-air marketplace near the castle...but before he could begin asking the townspeople about Lloyd, a man darted away from the castle.

"Shoot!" he shouted, "Princess Emille is coming!"

The crowd seemed to be gripped by a panic. Many of them hurried away from the castle as a lovely young woman of about twenty, with blonde hair done up in ringlets, emerged from the castle.

"Who said shoot?" she demanded in a harsh, grating voice. She glared at the crowd with a sour expression on her face. "Well?" The crowd shrank away from her.

"I'm the princess!" she snapped, "You _have _to be nice to me!"

Lavitz exchanged a glance with Albert. The poor king looked horrified.

A young woman, obviously in the late stages of pregnancy, slowly approached the Princess.

"P-Princess...E-Emille...would you n-name my b-baby--"

"No! Not happening!" the Princess growled. The woman slowly backed away. The Princess glared at the crowd one more time before striding back into the castle. The crowd remained for a moment, and Lavitz looked around. He and Albert were standing very close to a woman with deep tan skin, like many other Tiberoans had. She was wearing a long, dark purple skirt slit high up on her thigh and a top that was more like a wide strip of fabric than proper attire, although given the heat in Tiberoa, her skimpy clothing was . He took a good look at her face. She was pretty, yes, but not a great beauty, but what made him take a second look at her was her red hair that fell to the middle of her back.

As if sensing that Lavitz was staring at her, she turned and looked at him. She had violet eyes, which was not so unusual. But there was something in her eyes, a sort of...wisdom...

"Real sweetheart, isn't she?" she said in a low voice, gesturing toward the castle.

Lavitz looked back at Albert. He looked half-heartbroken. "Princess Emille was always reputed to be very kind..." he lamented. Lavitz looked back toward the woman, but she was already walking away.

_Damn! I could have asked her about Lloyd! _

Without thinking, he followed her.

"Lavitz?" Albert asked, worriedly, "Lavitz..."

"I'd like to ask her about Lloyd."

He continued to follow her down the winding streets, until she stopped abruptly and turned around. "You are following me, Sir Knight."

He gaped at her.

"Your armor gives you away, you know. Is he your squire?"

Lavitz opened his mouth, but Albert elbowed him and narrowed his eyes. "Yes," Lavitz said after a moment.

She chuckled. "Now, then, Sir Knight...why are you following me? It's perturbing me, you know."

Lavitz couldn't imagine this woman being perturbed, for some reason.

"Actually, I'm looking for someone.."

"Oh?"

"A man...with platinum hair. He wears a lot of black."

"Hmm...I've seen him. He was asking me questions about...an object I procured the other evening."

Lavitz's breath caught in his throat. "What kind of object?"

She crossed her arms. "Something I'd found the other evening. Some kind of gem."

"What color was it? What shape?"

"Look," the woman said, somewhat impatiently, "If you want to know, you'll have to pay me. The platinum haired man didn't want to know, so he didn't pay."

Albert was outraged. "What! All we want is some information and you--"

"Gotta make a living, too, you know," was all the woman said. She looked from Lavitz to Albert and back again. "I guess you don't want to know." Uncrossing her arms, she turned and walked away, pausing briefly enough to say "If you change your mind, my shop isn't far from here. You can't miss it, there is a large eye on the sign."

Then she had disappeared into the crowd.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"_**You're asking me to trust you/Well, there's little of that around"--**Sleeping Angel, by Stevie Nicks_

"Wait, let me get this straight," Dart said upon meeting Lavitz and Albert at the bar, "You met someone who actually _met _Lloyd? What did she say? Where is he going? What was that gem she found that he wanted?"

"She wouldn't tell us anything," Lavitz groaned.

"Well, why?"

"Because," Albert said, "She wanted us to pay her."

The waitress, a young woman named Kaffi, hurried over to the table. "Oo! Does she have red hair?"

Lavitz gaped at the waitress, surprised by her brashness. He nudged Dart. "Does she always do that?" he whispered.

"Since I've been here," Dart responded. Kaffi eyed them suspisciously.

"What are you two whispering about? I just asked what she looked like!"

Lavitz shook his head and looked back at Kaffi. "Yeah, she did have red hair."

"Oh, I know her! She's a fortune-teller, and, from what I understand, a darn good one. Likes to charge people for information though. She'd make a great spy."

Lavitz crossed his arms and started thinking of what that stone the woman he'd met earlier had spoken of was. The Dark Dragoon Spirit? If it was...was she the new Dark Dragoon?

His contemplation was interrupted when Kaffi began talking about the stars and how important they were to Tiberoans. She went on about it for what seemed like hours...

"Kaffi..." the bartender muttered, "Stop gossiping and get to work! It's dark already."

Dart looked out the window. "Already?" he said offhandly, "I wasn't keeping track of time."

"The inn is downstairs," Kaffi said, trying to be helpful. The group thanked her, and headed for the inn.

(---------)

"It's full?" Dart said, shocked, as he tried to get a room in the inn. The woman at the desk nodded.

"I'm very sorry, sir. Do you know anyone in this city...?"

Dart shook his head. "No..."

"Well, there are still a few people who are unafraid of bandits in this city. Try to find someone who will allow you to spend the night."

Dart nodded and left the inn, followed by the rest of the group.

"There has to be someone in this city who won't be afraid of us," Shana mused. Dart nodded, motioning for the others to follow, when a woman's indignant shout pierced the night air.

"Give that back, you little parasitic piece of--!"

Dart and the others instinctively turned to face the same direction as the woman's shout had come from. A moment later, a small, lithe little man dashed past Shana and around the corner, with a woman carrying a bullwhip in hot pursuit...a woman with _red _hair!

"That's her!" Lavitz cried. He took off after her without thinking, ignoring Dart's cries of "Wait!" He followed her through the maze of buildings, not caring where he was or where he was going, as long as he caught up to her. _Damn, she's fast, _he thought. Finally, she seemed to catch up with the little man she'd been chasing, and she curled the whip around his knees and yanked. The thief crashed to the ground, and the woman calmly walked over to him, kicked him once, and took something out of his hands. She turned around and began walking away when she saw Lavitz standing in front of her.

"You...aren't you that knight from earlier...?" she said quietly. He nodded. She eyed him suspiciously. "What do you want?"

Lavitz didn't answer her right away. He saw the thief stand up and pull something out of his belt...it looked like a dagger.

"What is it, Sir Knight?" she asked. Lavitz shoved her aside and knocked the dagger out of the thief's hand with his lance. The thief turned and ran away, cursing as he fled. Lavitz watched him, then he turned his attention back to the woman. In the confusion, she'd been knocked over, and whatever she'd taken back from the thief was on the ground in front of her. He bent down to help her pick it up...and it glowed brightly! He and the woman were mezmerized by it...suddenly, Lavitz's own Dragoon Spirit began to glow as well. The stone floated up into the air as the woman reached for it, finally landing inher outstretched hand. She looked from the stone to Lavitz, then back at the stone. "What is all this?" she asked as the stone dimmed.

"I...can't explain it here," Lavitz said, "Is there anywhere we could go where I could tell you about it?"

"What's your motive?" the woman said suspiciously.

"My motive? I just want to explain that stone to you," Lavitz said quietly.

"I don't trust you," she said quietly.

Lavitz sighed. She had a point. He'd given her no reason to, and besides, it was natural for her to be reluctant to go anywhere with a strange man. He crossed his arms and sighed deeply. "I give you my word of honor as a knight of Basil that no harm will come to you."

She burst into laughter. "A _knight? _I should trust a _knight_? Sir...I don't have time for this." She started to walk away.

"You do want to know what happened just now, don't you? When your stone and mine started glowing?" Lavitz called. She stopped dead in her tracks.

"So tell me right now."

"I can't. Everything I am about to tell you must be completely secret."

She sighed, and bit her lip. "Fine. Come to my shop and tell me everything you know."


End file.
